Boston College. November 8, 2008

Welcome to the 9th edition of Subway Domer's Anti-Preview's for the 2008 Fighting Irish Football team. This week the Irish travel to historical Boston Massachusetts for another battle with the Boston College Eagles. Notre Dame will be trying to become bowl eligible after they failed to do so versus Pitt last week in a kicking contest. At Notre Dame, all games are "must wins"- but it is even MORE necessary that the Irish win this week for their own confidence and the confidence of a nation.

Boston College. The Eagles enter this game on a two game losing streak and with an overall record of 5-3. Boston College is feeling the sting after 5th year senior and gay porn star, Matt Ryan, left and headed to the NFL. Ryan's replacement, Chris Crane, has been inconsistent to say the least. He is completing 56% of his passes and has 12 interceptions to 8 TD's. Historically, B.C. quarterbacks have been pretty accurate throwers, and especially against ND, they have stepped up in a big game and delivered with a good performance. The common opponent that B.C. and ND have had this year was North Carolina. Both games were in Chapel Hill. Both teams lost. The Eagles lost to the Heels 45-24. So whatever.

What should you be drinking? Well we are going to be in Boston. Sam Adams seems like a good fit here. But which one? The Sam Adams website has a great section that pairs all of its brews up with foods in the same way those fucking wine snobs do. Seeing as Boston is a coastal city I had to go with a beer that blends with a seafood palate. Sam Adam's Cream Stout.

Samuel Adams® Cream Stout is a true cream stout, balancing body and
sweetness with the natural spiciness of grain and hand selected English hops.
Our Brewers use generous portions of roasted chocolate and caramel malts as well
as unroasted barley to impart a fullness of body, a roasty malt character and
rich, creamy head. Its dark mahogany color make it almost as easy on the eyes as
it is on the palate.

Those are a lot of words for something that will make you unable to read in a short amount of time.

What should I be eating? Oysters! If you haven't tried oysters by now, please do so this weekend (unless you are allergic to shellfish- sorry about the whole death thing). You can eat them raw, fried, baked- whatever really. It's all up to your taste and desires. Here is a delicious recipe to make your own Rockin' Oysters Rockefeller. It may be a little hard to make this dish while tailgating, but it has been done before! If you are in Boston and want a good dish of oysters and don't feel like making them yourself, check out the Union Oyster House. If you do, you will also be enjoying a little bit of history along with your meal. The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in America, dating it's origin back to 1826. And BTW- here is what Sam Adams has to say about the oysters and that Cream Stout you've been pounding back:

With fresh shellfish, you get a lot of salty flavors but there is also a subtle
sweetness from the meat of the shellfish. These interesting flavors are the
perfect compliment to our Cream Stout. There is a slight bitterness and
sweetness from the roasted malt.

I do know, that you definitely don't want to blend Oysters. Watch and see...


What should I be wearing? The forecast is not looking that great for gametime. If it was an afternoon game, the weather would be perfect for football- 60 and cloudy. As it stands, the rain will start sometime around 6 pm and should last for most of the game. Standing in the rain sucks. Cold weather games are bearable and even enjoyable if you have the right amount of liquid heat in you and a good Carhartt outfit. However, if you are caught in the rain for the game, make sure you are packing a good yellow rain suit. Take some tips from the New England fisherman that seem to be iconic in them. Plus, if you happen to have your pet with you to ward off those bastard Boston College Jesuits, grab them a suit as well.

What freshman will make the biggest impact? This week I should have named this section, "What freshman do we need to play balls out?" The answer is Kyle Rudolph. Kyle has kind of disappeared these last few games after emerging as a go to option for Clausen. With so much attention being given to Floyd and Tate (rightfully so), this should open up the middle of the field for the 6'6" tight end. Not only do the Irish need to get back to utilizing Rudolph in the middle of the field in the passing game, but they also need Kyle to really step it up when it comes to run blocking and sealing the edge. If Rudolph has been criticized this year, it has usually been about not finishing his blocks and allowing his end to crash down on the runner. I think we see the re-emergence of Kyle Rudolph as an offensive weapon this week. I'm guessing that he will see about 5 receptions and one of those will be a TD.

What offensive player needs to step it up? I think it comes down to line play on both sides of the ball in bad weather games. Of course you can always say the "battle is won in the trenches" every week, but when footing is a problem the line of scrimmage can be like a force field. Sam Young needs to step up his game. The dude is 6'8" and 330 pounds. Pay physical. Young can dominate at times, but more often than not throughout his career he has been beaten by a speed rush and then he gets bull rushed BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN PLAYING WITH A SKIRT. (Sorry Sarah). When Clausen is pressured, the natural movement for him is to roll out to his right. When Young gets beat, Clausen gets powerbombed into the turf with or without the ball. I've always liked Sam Young. I think he has the potential to be great. I remember when the story came out last year about Sam waiting for Weis in the early hours of the early morning to ask Charlie what he (Young) could do to be a bigger leader on a team that was in dire need of leadership. This is the time and the moment is coming Saturday night. Young can establish himself as the anchor of the line with a good PHYSICAL game against a hated opponent. I believe in him and I think that he can produce those type of results. I just hope he still believes in it as well.

What defensive player needs to step it up? Staying with the theme of trench diggers, I pull out the guy that looks like a grave digger. Pat Kuntz. Kuntz needs another one of those emotional trainwrecks of a game like he had against Stanford. I don't think it takes a lot for Pat to get fired up and the thought of those BC fucks across the line from him is probably making him smash his head into a fucking window as I write this. If Kuntz is able to help provide pressure either himself or to help open the blitz lane for another defender, he will be doing his job. Crane is shaky enough, where he will make multiple mistakes without pressure let alone with an animal on his ass. Emotion is always a need for the Irish and Kuntz has that in bunches. I think Kuntz gets the job done and provides that spark that the entire team will need to win what will be a tough road test.

What special teams player needs to step it up? We all saw Brandon Walker grow up before our eyes last week. And we all saw the agony he showed at the end of the game. He may have missed that last FG, but he made all of the other ones that put us in a position to win. You may want to knock on wood, but I think Walker is settling in as a good kicker. It is up to him to continue that streak of good fortune. This week we need Eric Maust to step up. In a bad weather game, or really any game for that matter, field position is key. Maust has the leg and the Irish punt team has the coverage skills to flip the field on an opponent. Maust had a shaky game last week- he HAS to step it up and do the job.

Is there a rivalry trophy at stake? As a matter of fact, yes. (I wouldn't have asked otherwise) Here is an excerpt from an old Subway Domer post on all of ND's rivalry trophy games...

This is the only rivalry game in existence, that I have heard of, that contains
two trophies to the winner. The one depicted to the right is called The Ireland
Trophy. It was created by the Notre Dame Student Government as a sign of
goodwill and sportsmanship. The second is called The Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl.
This second trophy gives this game its unoffical name- The Leahy Bowl. This is
after legendary ND and BC coach Frank Leahy. Frank coached BC during the 1939
and 1940 seasons leading the Jesuits to a 20-2 record. He than left for his Alma
mater, ND. BC fans will say he was stolen away, but remember... they are idiots
and are insanely jealous of ND.

Who's gonna win? I have took the Irish every week this year as the winner. To my and their credit, they had a chance in every ball game to win. This week is no different as the Fighting Irish head into Chestnut Hill as a 3.5 point underdog. I think the Irish defense holds strong against a team that has a lot of issues at QB and is on a 2 game losing streak. Notre Dame gets the job done in an ugly game that will still produce points. IRISH 34-24.